Affordable Cities along Central Coast - California (San Luis Obispo, Atascadero: apartments, foreclosures)

[Shellybee]

Affordable Cities along Central Coast - California?

Hello All......
We are looking to relocate to a city in California along the Central Coast. Some factors we are considering are:

1. Jobs (however commute is not a significant issue, therefore we can commute to employment)
2. Low Crime. We understand Crime is everywhere, however it is reasonable to consider a city where crime isn't as rampid or on a steady increase.
3. Low cost of homes. With the housing crunch and foreclosures, more homes are becoming available at lower prices, which makes this criteria more realistic "now" than it was 5-years ago. There is a steady drop in prices of homes.
4. Good place to raise children. Decent schools.

We would like to stay along the Central Coast "instead" of Central Valley due to the poor air quality and rise in Gang activity within the Central Valley, but mainly because of the poor air quality.

Any and all ideas and help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

[Charles]

Rent or buy? Budget or price range?
What does "commute is not a significant issue, therefore we can commute to employment" really mean? Where will you really be working? Home? Elsewhere? Where?

[CA central coast]

Going off what you're asking, I'd say start your search in Paso Robles or Atascadero.

[1921Sparks]

is this thread dead? or did it move somewhere else?

are Paso Robles & Atascadero the ONLY 2 affordable cities along central coast?

I'm thinking of moving to the central coast of CA from VA.

Originally I was looking at SLO, but then I read a bit on this forum and everyone seems to say the same thing: "not enough jobs, expensive homes". Is this still true?

I currently make $40,000 here in VA and I'm not sure how much I would make in CA.
I do not have a bachelors degree, only have an associates & a bookkeepers certificate; but I will mostly likely finish my degree in CA.
The boyfriend has a degree in History, so not sure what he can do with that.

I really like what I've read about the weather along the central coast - "mediterranean weather" although I can do even warmer weather - I'm not a fan of cold weather.

Lets see..what else...
we have a car so commuting isnt too much of an issue
looking to RENT not buy
would be nice to NOT be more than an hour drive away from the beach.
i'd like to stay away from crime ridden areas (I know crime exists everywhere)
need to be near a decent college/university

ok that's all I can think of. Let me know if more info is needed.

Thanks for any help in advance!

[JetJockey]

Well, San Luis Obispo sounds just about perfect for you, SLO has Cal Poly and Cuesta Comm. Colleges, but it all depends on how much you can afford to rent. Plus, cost of gas, food etc. is a LOT more expensive here than in VA. Considering there is a highly regarded university AND Jr. College here, there is an overabundance of college graduates all vying for basically the same jobs.

I'd say look on craigslist.org for San Luis Obispo to get a general idea of what jobs are paying and what rent is like and go from there.

[treedonkey]

Here is the full list of affordable cities along the Central CA coast:

[1921Sparks]

That
is pretty much what I expected =/

But I mean, I currently live in Fairfax, VA & its pretty damn pricey here too.

I got this from Wiki about Fairfax:
"has the second-highest median household income of any jurisdiction in the United States"
"the economy has also made Fairfax County one of the wealthiest counties in the nation"
"richest county in America"

And yet, there are plenty of cities within Fairfax County that I can actually afford.

I'm sure there has to be some cities like that somewhere along the central coast of CA.

but then again, maybe not...?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by 1921Sparks

That
is pretty much what I expected =/

But I mean, I currently live in Fairfax, VA & its pretty damn pricey here too.

I got this from Wiki about Fairfax:
"has the second-highest median household income of any jurisdiction in the United States"
"the economy has also made Fairfax County one of the wealthiest counties in the nation"
"richest county in America"

And yet, there are plenty of cities within Fairfax County that I can actually afford.

I'm sure there has to be some cities like that somewhere along the central coast of CA.

but then again, maybe not...?

not on $40,000 a year and I am not sure how you are doing on that in Fairfax county. We lived there 20 years ago when things were about 1/2 of what they are now and could not have survived on $40,000 or barely...I guess if you live in a one bedroom apartment and don't go out much you should be able to afford something.

Nita

[vdy1985]

Affordable and California Coast do not belong in the same sentence.

[1921Sparks]

Well it wouldn't just be my income alone. Boyfriend will contribute. However, like I said before, I'm not sure what kind of jobs are available for someone with a degree in history.

Yeah there are plenty of 2bdrm apartments here in Fairfax County for...the cheapest I've seen is $1200.
Split both ways, I'd be paying $600/month. Not too bad. In fact, I just checked now and found a couple apartments going for $1100.

And like I said before, I wouldn't mind being an hour or so away from the coast. I don't need to be right on the beach or anything.